Let's Chat!: Blue Version!
by Virtual Victrola
Summary: Don't press that mouse! He really should learn to expect the unexpected...especially when two crazy visitors appear in his online chats. Is anything normal anymore? " My name isn't Sonic! Stop calling me that! "  Mild Crossover; AU
1. Prologue:Weird Strangers

Let's Chat! : Blue Version

"What can possibly go wrong?"

Oh God, never ever say that phrase to yourself; you're only confirming the inevitable misfortune you're bound to face. A lot was about to go wrong…or perhaps right in a strange way. Anyway, the boy who just pressed his luck was sitting at an innocent-seeming screen. Seeming being the key word there. He was just about –oh there he finished- to register for an instant messaging system on the requests of his friends. They had been talking in a chatroom for quite some time, and after a long stubborn battle, they encouraged him to join.

After ten minutes of trivial questions, he was finally ready to log in. After setting up and connecting his e-mail account, he immediately received his first message. Thinking it to be his eager friends, he opened it without a second thought and began to type. At the bottom of the screen the words "MissRandomLuck is typing appeared on the bottom of the small window". The person on the other end responded first.

"Hello, Sonny-kun!"

"Hello?"

"How are you today? It looks sunny out. I like it when it's sunny."

"Okay?"

" Question mark?"

"What?"

"You keep asking me questions, silly billy. "

"No, I haven't."

"Well, everything you said had a question mark on it. …You can't see it, but I'm pouting! Cute pouting!"

"Okay. Here's a real question. Who is this?"

The replies to the boy, apparently named Sonny, stopped their frenetic pace. He was about to reply again, finding this mildly suspicious, but was distracted when a second user signed on – NiGHTSintoDreams. This new user then proceeded to chat him up as well.

"Good afternoon, Sonny."

"It's 9:00 PM. "

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Haha…It's still light out here. I don't know if it even gets dark here."

" Huh?"

"Ack! I've said too much. You talk to him, VV!"

Sonny stared at the screen as the two fumbled with replied of "Not it!". These weren't his friends, were they? Then again, they _did _know his name… He pulled out a list from his pocket, remembering that Miles gave him a sheet with all the usernames of his friends. Oh great! Just as he feared! Strangers stalking him and saying weird things! Better give them one last try.

"So who are you two?" Sonny finally asked.

"Well, I'm NiGHTS," the one with the name in the screenname replied.

"And I'm VV!" MissRandomLuck added.

What kind of names were those? "That's it. I'm outta here!"

"Nonononononononononononono!" MissRandomLuck typed out quickly.

"Hey! Wait! Hear us out here, will you?" NiGHTSintoDreams insisted.

Sonny didn't, closing the screen immediately. However, his curiosity got the best of him, and he couldn't refrain himself from reopening the window.

"NiGHTS-kun! You scared Sonic-san away! Now we're never gonna get him back!" VV complained, thinking he was still gone.

The other typed a smiley face with its tongue sticking out, a defiant yet playful gesture to the girl talking to him.

"Be serious."

"Me serious?"

"….Hehe. Neither one of us are too serious, are we?"

"Nope! But that makes us more fun than bores than geezers like Owl."

"Yeah! Owl-sensei is borrrring!"

"Boring."

"But. Maybe we shouldda got his help…. Sonic-kun left. Now how are we supposted to bring him back? I miss him."

"I'm sure he'll come back, VV."

"He doesn't even remember us."

"He doesn't even remember anything."

"I guess."

"Cheer up! We still have plan B!"

"PLAN B! You sure you can't come for it?"

"Still gathering energy for the trip. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thank you, NiGHTS-kun."

"You're welcome!"

"I'm sure if we try hard enough, Sonic-san will start remembering."

"I hope your friend gets his memory back."

Both instantly stopped at that last reply. Sonny had worked up the nerve to reply to them, although he instantly regretted it. Both seemed ecstatic, replying as fast as his regret set in.

"Sonny-kun! You you you came back! I'm so happy! So happy!"

"Oh! Hello again! You came back to us?"

He paused, unsure how to reply, not really knowing what was going on. Behind the keyboard, Sonny sighed with defeat.

"I guess."

"Gomen! I'm so sorry for scaring you off!"

"Ha! So you did scare him off!"

"NiGHTS-kun!"

"Is there anything I can do to help your friend?" Sonny ignored the response, not wanting to get the two strangers too excited.

"Just keep talking to us. Your support is all we need, Sonny-kun."

"Alright? Just later…I'm gonna talk to my friends."

"Can we come? NiGHTS asked.

"No." Sonny replied, quickly saying goodbye to them both before closing the window for good.


	2. Chapter 1 : His Friends

_**Author's Notes:** _Oh hey! So you're here! If you're reading this, then good! Recently, I've reduxed the first ...erm...eight chapters of Let's Chat!: Blue Version. This fanfic was originally posted in 2007, but future me in 2012 deemed it unpalatable and made it a little better, even if the chapters are mostly the same. Hopefully, past and future readers will enjoy the new chapters and all that's to come!

And by the by, if you didn't figure out the crossover by now, it should become blatantly obvious in the future. c;

* * *

Chapter 1

A new window popped upon Sonny's screen several minutes later. Thankfully, this chat was from his friends, who had told him their screen names earlier.

"Sonny? This is you right? It was AirFox or Sonny's best friend Miles. Miles was even younger than his friend Sonny. Whereas Sonny was fifteen, Miles was only eight. Despite that, the blonde duo were inseparable.

"The one and only!" Sonny put up a smiley with sunglasses on.

For about a minute, nobody typed a word, at least until Miles broke the digital silence. "It's okay, Knoland… He's not an imposter." He seemed exasperated, as if this kind of behavior occurred on a daily basis.

"Oh good." FistsofFury slowly typed; Knoland was always cautious. In fact, the red head was almost infamous for it, if not for his red hot temper or his gullibility. As if on cue, three people logged in the chat room. They all typed some version of hello.

"Sonny! Oh, I've missed you!" HammerHearts typed hearts after her words. Two or three of the other members in the chat room gave a sarcastic "Oh really?"

Sonny panicked a bit. Oh no. It was _Amy_, Sonny's twelve year old friend who had….an uncomfortable obsession with him. "But I just saw you three hours ago!"

"Is that any way to talk to your girlfriend?" Amy's message was drowned with angry faces. Sonny stared his computer monitor was distain. Would this ever end? Sonny immediately typed the response that he was not, in any way anyone could think of, her boyfriend.

"Please don't do that. It burns my eyes." TheUltimateLifeform typed at the same time, causing a dual ping to spill from the speakers of the computer.

"Lighten up, Shay! It's smilies. What's the big deal?" Sonny put a smiling circle after this, just to agitate him. Oh how Sonny loved agitating the black haired Shay. The two were somewhat friendly rivals…with most of the "friendly" part coming from Sonny. Shay was a bit of a stoic and any day he was friendly, people thought that hell froze over.

"Stop ignoring me!" It was HammerHearts and her barrage of angry smilies again. Apparently, she either accidentally or intentionally missed the 'I'm not your boyfriend' speech.

"Calm down, Amy… He's not ignoring you. Sonny just got side-tracked!" JewelsForMe tried to subdue Amy's angriness. The older, often sarcastic girl named Ruby finally got in her two cents. Ruby was noted for her interest in jewelry, her ability to constantly anger Knoland, and being the only one in the right mind to hang around Shay for a whole say.

"And that still burns my eyes." Said boy typed, almost making the situation worse. Shay really didn't put up with much. He was about business, not pleasure.

"Sonny's not like that. Right, Sonny?" AirFox jumped back in the conversation, trying to confirm Ruby's words and pacify Amy.

"Right. You're my friend, and I'd never forget you." Sonny hoped this would make Amy feel better. He was always careful to value his friends, and despite Amy's strange love for him, Sonny considered her a friend.

"But I want to be more than that! I love you, Sonny! Why won't you love me back?" Amy demanded, not understanding him. Despite the boy's want for a friendship, all she wanted was love.

"Uh… You're too serious about this, Ames. We don't need to be more than friends…" The laid back boy replied, trying to put it down gently. Behind the screen, Sonny leaned back in his computer chair and gave an exasperated sigh.

HammerHearts replied with lots of crying faces. "Your words! That's why I love you… Wah!" Amy completely missed the point.

"Shay's right. The smilies are burning my eyes…" Knoland interrupted Amy's moment.

"What a perfect time to say that!" JewelsForMe typed sarcastically.

"Shut up, Ruby…"

A new screen name appeared on the list, GreenArmsocks. "Sorry I'm late, guys! Internet was down here again. Dad and I fixed it." The text explained.

"Who are you?" Knoland was _always_ suspicious.

"I'm the Easter Bunny!" GreenArmsocks replied sardonically, not finding this amusing. Shouldn't Knoland know who she was by now, considering she was invited to the chat?

"The Easter Bunny has a screen name?" As said before, he was always ever so gullible too…

"Uh... No?" GreenArmsocks seemed unsure if he thought she was the Easter Bunny. She hoped he didn't.

"Then who are you?" FistsofFury interrogated.

"Who are you?" GreenArmsocks answered with a question.

"Why should I tell you?"

"I can just scroll up the screen, Knoland." She replied smugly.

"Get lost. You shouldn't be here." He told her hastily.

She changed the subject. "Wait… Aren't a few of you in Mr. Robotnik's science class 5th period?"

"You're in my science class?" Sonny asked skeptically.

"Ayup. Dana Fox! You know…The one Shay accused of being a robot?" Behind the screen, more than one person chuckled.

"She's too weird…" TheUltimateLifeform wrote in small text, stubbornly not admitting anything.

"I'm sorry I'm a little childish, Shay! Geez." Dana typed back in defensively.

Much to Sonny's dismay, NiGHTSintoDreams and MissRandomLuck joined that chat. He'd just gotten comfortable only for the peculiar duo to appear again.

"Not these two again…" Sonny looked away from the screen, growling. Didn't he tell them not to come? Now they were going to bother his friends before he could shoo them off.

"Well, that's a new way to say 'Hi'…" MissRandomLuck typed.

"What? Do you not want us here, Sonny?" NiGHTS seemed concerned, perhaps slightly slighted.

"We can leave, if you want. We can talk later." VV put up a winking smiley. She seemed positive despite the fact that the boy wanted nothing to do with her.

"You know these people, Sonny?" HammerHearts asked.

"Just barely…" The boy typed with displeasure.

"Hiya, Amy-chan!" VV chimed, seeing who it was.

"How do you know me?"

"Through Sonny-kun. But I bet VV doesn't ring a bell, does it?"

"No." It seemed VV was expecting this answer from her, but didn't want it.

"Aww… Thought so. We're gonna help you remember everything then! Right, NiGHTS-chan?"

"Right!" The other responded chipperly

"Remember what?" Shay wasn't too pleased, bitterly tuning in.

"You're one to talk…." NiGHTS mused mischievously, obviously knowing something Shay didn't.

"What?" He demanded.

"Nothing!~" VV replied, shushing NiGHTS up, and not letting the other answer.


	3. Chapter 2: What does Sonic Mean?

Chapter 2

"Uh… I have laundry to do!" That was MissRandomLuck's only other response to Shay's question, leaving immediately after. Hitting the panic button, she evaded the innocent question posed by the dark haired boy and logged out.

Within the next few minutes everyone logged off with the exception of Sonny. Amusing himself, he leaned over the keyboard and typed a few words. He felt like talking to himself, still feeling a reason to stay.

"It's like they're aliens or something…" FastestThingAlive typed, thinking no one else was around to read. What a _creative_ username. Sonny's friends really should have gotten on him for that one.

"Aliens," NiGHTSintoDreams responded. "Have feelings too."

"You're still here?" He was surprised to say the least.

"Just because VV had other business, doesn't mean I do."

"Are you aliens?" The boy asked curiously, unable to contain his curiosity after he posed the question.

NiGHTS's answer? "Just what do you consider aliens, Sonic?"

The question was haunting him all day at school, were VV and NiGHTS aliens? Was someone else? He often stared down at his peach colored hands, feeling the lines in his palms. Was he an alien? He shoved the thought in his head that he couldn't have been. He was a completely normal human boy! VV and NiGHTS…well… Even though he barely knew them, he could at least determine they weren't normal.

At school, he was constantly fidgeting, fighting the feeling to move, and find out. Sonny couldn't even comprehend why those two kept calling him Sonic. It couldn't have been a typo because it happened twice already. It was also capitalized, as if it was his name. Originally, he thought they had been talking about someone else, but NiGHTS's last comment was too strange to ignore; it was really bothering him. The two had stirred him up more than he thought.

After Science, Sonny approached his teacher. "Hey, Mr. Robotnik! What does the word sonic mean? I heard it somewhere and wasn't sure what it meant."

Mr. Robotnik squirmed in his chair, twitching when Sonny had said the word sonic. "Oh. _That_ word." He sighed, speaking as if he did not like it. "It has to do with the speed of things. Subsonic are sounds too slow to hear and supersonic sounds are too fast to hear. Sonic itself can refer to speed, usually indicating that something is fast." Mr. Robotnik placed his hands on his desk.

"Thanks, Mr.R!" Sonny winked and grinned. "Thanks for the help!"

Mr. Robotnik didn't respond. He had already taken out a screwdriver, fixing another teacher's watch. His moustache twitched slightly as he sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he put the tiny screws of the watch pack in place and tapped the glass face. Merely nodding, he hadn't even noticed that Sonny left.

The question still haunted Sonny as he left school, traveling homeward with his friends. They usually just sat around for hours, all smiling except Shay who rarely cracked a grin. Dana had started hanging around them recently, adding random tidbits of knowledge to their many conversations.

"Hey guys…" Sonny asked from the tree he was sitting in. "What do think aliens are?" The question was posed casually, but everyone thought it was a strange one. Everyone looked around awkwardly, unsure of how to answer.

Dana shrugged as she simply answered, "Outsiders."

That statement confused him even more_. "Outsiders from where?" _ Growing bored, Sonny merely looked out as they continued talking. Miles was currently mentioning that they were considering to move the eight year-old up a grade. Sonny yawned softly (He'd heard this before and wasn't interested.) before he accidentally fell asleep.

Sonny tossed and turned in his daydream. Or should one say nightmare? Before Sonny stood a gargantuan robot about five or six times his height, looming over him menacingly. Its mechanical claws tossed about the area, attempting to knock the young boy over. Sonny's blond hair rushed in front of his eyes as the narrowly avoided the robot's arm. Maniacal laughter could be heard echoing through the people-less streets. Frightened for his life, Sonny ran away from the mech. A glowing light shone in the near distance, mere feet way from Sonny's swinging legs. Not knowing where else to go, he ran into it, hoping it would solve his problem and take him away.

Instead of awaking, Sonny found himself in a tree-covered field. Engulfed in the serene warmth, Sonny looked at his surroundings. The cloudless sky had to be one of the bluest he could ever imagine, and the trees appeared to glisten in shining sun. There weren't many creatures in this clearing besides the chirping birds and two figures in the distance. Sonny whipped his head as he saw them, two figures that appeared to be dancing in front of a windmill. He closely approached the creatures, hoping not to scare them off.

"No! Not _that_ way!" A young girl corrected her partner. Pushing some brown hair out of her face, she pouted. "Use this foot, Silly!" The sun glinted off her glasses, so it was difficult for Sonny to see her. She was wearing a strange sundress and a pair of headphones, but Sonny found her hair the strangest as it stuck up in a point on the top of her head.

"Oh…" The other figure chuckled a bit. Its voice appeared feminine. "Why do I even need to know this anyway?" The second figure was even stranger than the first. It appeared to be a clown of some sort or maybe an acrobat or jester. The strange figure was dressed entirely in purple with reds, pinks, whites and golds scattered throughout his attire.

"Because!" The girl whined, and jumped up and down "Dancing is fun! Fun, fun, fun!"

"Okay, VV!" Then, it hit Sonny like a brick. The second speaker wasn't human. Its round head was not attached to its neck, and it had no wrists. In certain lights, the eyes appeared purple. "It is fun, but don't be so hard on me. I'm not as good as you yet."

"And you never will be if you think like that!" VV stuck her tongue out at the purple figure. "Now it's the _right_ foot, NiGHTS-kun! The right foot!"

Sonny gulped. _VV and NiGHTS? Aren't they…_

"Sonny-san! Yay!" VV called out, scaring the living daylights out of him. She suddenly noticed him, jerking her head his way. He could see now that her eyes were pinker than cotton candy. "What a surprise! Didn't expect to see the likes of you here!" She seemed entirely too happy to see him and was unable to stop giggling.

"I-I did-didn't either." Sonny stuttered nervously, not knowing what to say to her. "What do you want with me?" He added, trying to look confident.

"You're gonna remember sooner or later! VV and I thought sooner was better." NiGHTS smiled, swaying side to side. Sonny nearly choked when he realized that the jester was flying instead of walking.

"Sooner is always better!" VV barked, pumping a fist. It was a testament to she couldn't seem to keep still…or keep her mouth shut for that matter. The two approached the boy from both sides.

"Remember what?" Sonny questioned, trying to squirm from them a bit. The two didn't seem to get the idea of personal space either.

"The truth, you baka! The truth!" VV giggled like the other said something funny, and adjusted her glasses. "You don't even remember what you really look like. _Quite_ a shame if you ask me."

"I can use a mirror-"

"That won't show you anything!" VV interrupted immaturely and crossed her arms.

Sonny sighed, deciding not to debate with VV anymore. "What was that whole 'laundry' deal about?"

"Uh… Some boy got his Pikachu stolen again, and I helped rescue it…" VV scratched her head as she said this.

"Pikachu?"

"Long story that I'm not getting into, Sonic-kun." She waved the question off dismissively.

"Why do you keep calling me Sonic?" He also wanted to ask why the girl seemed to attach honorfics onto everything , but decided against it. It wasn't even worth asking.

"It's your name?" NiGHTS responded with confusion, not understanding the question. The purple figure seemed just as naïve as the girl, since both of them were so clueless and childlike.

"Really?" Sonny's image blinked twice, and he was starting to disappear. He took a surprised step back, not expecting to turn invisible. Everything just seemed to get stranger and stranger.

"Uh huh. " VV looked at Sonny, tilting her head.. "Try to get a better grip on that tree before you fall asleep in it next time." She giggled.

Sonny laughed nervously; he was translucent now.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Tree Boy-kun." VV waved Sonny good-bye.

Sonny screamed as he fell from the tree he was laying on. His eyes shot open with a jolt from his dream, catching sight of something black. Shay growled, and tried to throw Sonny off him as everyone else laughed. Once Sonny was out of Shay's grip another thought haunted him.

_"See you tomorrow!"_ were the last words VV said to him before she and her flying jester-like friend disappeared.


	4. Chapter 3:  The New Girl

Chapter 3

Sonny stretched as he awoke the next morning, and thankfully, VV and NiGHTS didn't pop up in his dreams again. He put on his clothes, preparing for the day ahead.

"Sonny!" His mother was calling. "Don't dilly-dally dear! That new foreign exchange student will be here soon!"

"That's today?" Sonny glanced nervously at his calendar. Sonny was part of a program where students who've been at the school awhile take care of brand new students for two weeks. His two weeks _did_ start today. He swiftly picked up his backpack, and headed out the door. Sonny was greeted by the rain, pitter-pattering against his head.

"I brought an umbrella…" A timid voice caught him off-guard. It was the new student with a green umbrella. Sonny froze; he hadn't expected the new girl until later, but she must have showed up early and was waiting for him. Her brown eyes seemed as emotionless as her shy expression gave away nothing. She was wearing a green and white layered shirt with a matching emerald beret with an ivory circle on it. She also wore pink and gold sweatpants with white and gold shoes.

"Thank you." Sonny smiled. "I'm Sonny, and I'm your guide to your new school."

"That's good." The girl sighed. "I was afraid I was in the wrong place."

"Nope! You're not." Sonny led the new girl up the street. She played around with her brown hair nervously.

"My-my n-name is-is VV, and I thank you s-so much for taking me." Her hands trembled in a frightened manner as the umbrella twitched. Not knowing what to do next, the girl arched her back and bowed politely, making sure not to hit him in the face with her umbrella.

_"VV? She can't possibly be_ that _girl! They have different colored eyes and different personalities and everything! Besides, what kind of disguise would it be if she used her real name?"_ Sonny thought nervously. "Oh. I'm your guide, Sonny. It's nice to meet you." He told her, thoughts still racing. The new girl couldn't possibly be that girl on the internet and in his dreams. That NiGHTS person would have been with her.

"_What do you think aliens are, Sonic?" _ Sonny began to get a throbbing headache. He just couldn't comprehend anything and clutched his head.

"Sonny! Sonny!" VV snapped him back into reality. "Are you all right?" Sonny had collapsed a couple feet from the school. Shay and Knoland were now hoisting him up. All their faces were blanketed with worry.

"I'm fine!" He fibbed as she stood up. How did he get here?

"You don't look 'fine'." Shay shook his head.

"Really!" Sonny tried to convince him, but he tripped and wasn't getting up. His legs had given out…followed by the rest of him. Without a reason, he was suddenly unconscious. The trio there surrounded him, flocking to him to see if he was injured. Shay had made sure Sonny didn't hit his head on the way down

"Does this happen to him a lot?" VV bit her lip. She winced, worried terribly for her guide.

"No." Knoland replied quietly, surprised and worried himself. He'd never seen something like this happen to his friend before.

"We have to help him! We can't leave him injured!" VV hoisted Sonny's limp body on her shoulders. Despite the warnings of the boys, she tugged him up to bring to the school.

"What are you doing?" Shay looked at VV in awe, surprised she could heft Sonny over her shoulders. She struggled a bit under the other's weight, but seemed to have no more trouble than Knoland or Shay would have.

"I is saving him!" With that, VV fled the scene without explaining herself, leaving the two boys alone.

"Wait!" Before Knoland could help her, VV was gone. He held out his arm limply and yelled at the silly girl to come back, but she didn't and kept on running. Shay and Knoland were stricken silent by the events. Slowly but surely, the duo began to follow VV's path to get to school and check on their peer.

"She's …different…" Shay crossed his arms, looking the way the foreign exchange student had gone. His eyes were half narrowed, and he appeared to be much less interested than he was.

"What do you mean by different, Shay? A robot like Dana?" Knoland joked with a snicker.

Shay wasn't amused, holding up a fist. "Would you like to join Sonny in the infirmary?"

"Would you?" Knoland countered haughtily, getting a little angry.

"No," Shay replied. There was a small pause. Then, Shay punched Knoland in the gut.

VV wasn't stopping to catch her breath, nor to check on Sonny's condition. She just kept running, eventually finding the nurse's office. She refused to go to class without Sonny. The nurse was surprised she was so caring for someone she barely knew. It took period after period to seal all of Sonny's scratches and for him to awake. VV's emotions got the better of her, and she hugged Sonny as soon as he sat up.

Tears were streaming down her face. "I thought you were gonna die on my first day. I'm s-so happy you're alright!" She rocked slightly, nearly squishing him.

Sonny was frozen solid from VV's reaction. It was almost as is she cared too much. Amy might have acted worse, but this was still a bit extreme. Even as the duo headed to their next class, VV didn't leave his side, afraid Sonny would collapse again.

"Sonny," Mr. Robotnik was outraged. "Late for class again! You even brought the new student in your hooky escapade."

"Stop it! That's really mean." VV stood up for Sonny, barely thinking before she spoke. "He collapsed when he was taking me to school! He was in the nurse's office recovering. We even got a note from the nurse! Please don't jump to conclusions!" VV slapped the notice on his desk with a pout.

" I understand you are new here, but we have one rule here, Miss VV, and that it not to talk back to the teacher. My name is Mr. Robotnik, and for your unruly behavior you and 'Mr. Injury' over there have earned a trip to Mr. Metalo's office!"

"But-"The young girl tried to protest, getting angry.

"No buts."

"B-but- This is ridiculous, Mr. Robotnik! We have an excuse and everything!"

"Now, Missy!" He pointed at the door, glaring them out.

"That's unfair and unjust I was just-" VV protested defiantly, not understanding why the science teacher was being so unreasonable.

"Head to the principal's office, you trouble-makers!" He reiterated, earning a glare from the two of them.

"Harsh much?" Dana whispered to the nearby Shay, watching the two slink out of the room shamefully.

Sonny limped (as he was still a little weak) to the principal's with VV at his side. The little girl skittered beside him, moaning apologies.

"I'm so sorry…" She whimpered. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine! Really. Mr. Robotnik must be in a bad mood today." Sonny dismissed, dismayed at going to the principal's office. He often ran late for class, but wasn't keen on getting anything marked on his permanent record.

"No. He's evil!" VV pouted. "And your principal is no better! Meanie!"

"You didn't even meet Mr. Metalo yet…" Sonny sighed, watching her fume for a second or two about how she didn't like it here so far. Eventually, she calmed down, only for Sonny to catch a sharp glimmer on the edge of her dull eyes.

VV pulled Sonny to the side. "Let's chat."

"But we're-" She yanked him by the arm roughly, not caring if he opposed. The girl pulled him off to the side of the hall, pinning his shoulder against a set of lockers.

"Quiet! This is the most important conversation you'll have..like _ever_!" She held an index finger over her lips, signaling for the older boy to be quiet. Seeing he was finally quiet, she giggled with delight.

"What?" Sonny gulped, causing VV to shush him again.

"Hang on… These stupid contacts are bothering me." VV released Sonny and continued walking to avoid suspicion. She pulled out a pair of blue glasses, and adjusted them to her face. Her eyes now swirled with emotion, and she grinned widely. Sonny initially thought it was a play of light, but her eyes were pink.

"No!" Sonny refused to believe it. He took a step back as if his eyes were wrong the first time.

"Hehe. Don't tell me I fooled you, Sonny-kun! I thought you were a little smarter than_ that_." This VV and the other VV _were_ the same person all along.

"B-but…" She continued to giggle with her hands over her mouth, but suddenly sobered, attracting all of Sonny's attention.

"Please trust me with what I'm about to tell you." VV told him with a soft, sincere voice; she took no heed of his reluctance.


	5. Chapter 4: Steel Hearted Confrontation

Chapter 4

"You ever read a comic?" She started the conversation in such an odd way. She twiddled her fingers and blushed, wondering if he could make a connection to what she was saying.

"What?" Sonny was frustrated. "_That's_ the most important thing I'll hear in years?" He was flabbergasted. Was she just here to pull his leg? Whatever it was, he didn't find it funny.

"No, but have you?" She did nothing to appease him and simply tried to accelerate the conversation.

"Yes…" Sonny groaned, not wanting to know where she was going with this. He had a feeling it would end badly. However, this was VV, so he concluded it would end very strangely.

"You know how there is always this..this… spectacular hero person?" She added awkwardly. Maybe she should have thought this through more. VV took off her hat and scratched her head, displaying her strange hairstyle and cementing the fact that there was only one girl named VV around.

"Yes... Where are you with this?" Sonny stared at her, slumping his shoulders and squinting his eyes. He wanted VV to get this over with.

"You're the hero!" VV blurted out gleefully, shaking her fists enthusiastically.

"What?" Sonny responded, quirking a brow.

"You've saved this world countless times, and you can't remember a single one… That's why my friend, NiGHTS-kun, and I are here. We want you to remember so much it hurts." VV added, getting a little too close to him. She looked at him pleadingly with her bubblegum pink eyes. "Please let us help you, Sonic-sama."

Sonny's face was frozen in shock. "W-wha?" Before he could question her on it she started talking.

"Oh! We're here." Quickly, she shoved her hat back on and put her contacts in. She darted her head around, hoping no one saw her do that. "I said nothing." She whispered wearily, darting behind Sonny in an attempt to appear meek. VV wasn't actually cowardly, considering she was constantly peeking over Sonny's shoulder, glaring at things sneakily like she had x-ray vision. (She wasn't exactly…inconspicuous.)

Sonny stepped in the door cautiously, half-expecting someone to jump out, and scream "April Fools!" at him. It was the exact opposite; 's face seemed to scare the living daylights out of VV with its strict sternness. (She pretended to be scared a little too long to be realistic.)

"Come in. It seems that your teacher has made a mistake." The principal told them cordially, shutting the door behind them.

"Oh! So we're not punished!" Sonny sighed in relief, but it was quickly cut short.

"No. Mr. Robotnik's foolish mistake was sending you to _my_ office, Sonny." Mr. Metalo's hand lashed out at Sonny. Thankfully, VV saw this coming and grabbed it.

"Cut it out, Metal. You could have killed him right then and there." VV snapped. There was no kindness towards him. Perhaps, there was even a bit of malice.

"Oh. So you know." The blank look on his face dissolved into a devious grin. VV merely nodded, grasping the hand harder, nearly cutting her own hands. "I was hoping to kill him, then you while you were still in shock." The principal replied nonchalantly.

"Why would you want to k-kill me?" Sonny was visibly shaking. The word was spinning and everything was topsy turby. "What's going on here?"

Instead of a reply, the principal instead growled a serious of electronic buzzes, irritating Sonny's ears. He struggled against VV, overpowering her and throwing her into the wall. The painting on it jumped and fell on VV's head.

"Crazy robot." The girl growled, rubbing her head. Cracking her neck, she again charged at the man behind the desk. Apparently, she wasn't a very well trained fighter, considering her primary form of attack was to leap at Mr. Metalo and try to tear off his face. The man tried to deflect her, but she merely grabbed onto his arm and bit his shoulder. Snarling, he tore her off and pushed her to the ground.

"Hmph! And I was hoping to make this fast and painless."

"_I'll_ make it fast and painful!" VV threatened, practically climbing on the desk.

"Quiet, you brat."

"Brat? Why I aught to…!" VV shook her fist at Mr. Metalo.

"What's going on?" Sonny shook his head.

"You wouldn't understand." VV and Mr. Metalo answered simultaneously.

"I'm going to kill you first, little girl. You know too much."

"If you can actually land another hit on me, Metal Sonic!" VV pulled out a small red and white ball.

"You expect to beat me with a marble? Foolish girl! It will take much more than that to stop me!"

"Don't judge a book by it its cover!" The ball quickly expanded to two or three times its own size. "Give up now!"

Sonny watched silently, hoping VV would come out victorious.

Mr. Metalo had ripped off the sleeves of his shirt revealing thin, silverish arms, ending with long, sharp claws. "Let's just say my book is bigger than yours."

"Meep…" VV bit her lip. " I only have one shot at this! Go, Miles-sama!"

"But Miles is in the elementary school…" Sonny thought they were doomed.

"Not the same Miles-sai, Sonny. Miles-sama is my lucario! Attack with Flash Cannon!" The blue, black, and yellow creature was holding a silver orb; Miles barked softly as he released in upon Metal. There was a clank of steel against steel as the "principal" fell to the ground. "Eat that, jerk face!"

Mr. Metalo swiftly charged at VV's pokemon, and grabbed him. "Dragon Pulse!" The purple burst from Miles's mouth catapulted Metal Sonic backwards. He struggled to get up. "Too hard to swallow? Give it up!"

Metal grimaced. "Get out of my office." VV recalled her lucario, placing his poke ball in her bag, beaming victoriously.

"Yes!" She grabbed Sonny, and ran out of the office. "See ya later, weanie!"

"You'll be back!" Mr. Metalo growled. "And next time you'll be sorry, you infantile ignoramuses!"

"What does _that_ mean?" Sonny asked curiously.

" I dunno! That jerk!"


	6. Chapter 5: VV's Invitation

Chapter 5

Sonny was still breathless and shocked as VV dragged him away from the principal's office. The young girl frowned with worry. Sonny seemed understand why. His adrenaline was still pulsing anxiously, and the frazzled VV tried to calm him down. It didn't seem to be working because the thought of the principal wanting to annihilate him sent shivers down his spine. VV tilted her head as a sign of confusion.

"You're not still scared. Are you?" VV giggled. "Don't worry. I'll never let Metal bust your head open."

Sonny took a nervous, shallow breath. "Stop putting ideas in my head…"

"Sorry. I just wanted to say I would never let him get you…" VV abruptly became depressed, and little tears sprang from the wells of her eyes. She whimpered at the fear of causing her friend any pain.

"D-don't cry!" Sonny suddenly became alarmed. He patted her shoulder to make the sadness vanish. There were several sniffing noises as VV regained her composure.

"Thank y-you." VV tilted her head downward. "I shouldn't have overreacted like th-"

A bell rang, interrupting the girl. She popped up at its startling sound. Sonny calmed her again by telling her that the bells even surprised him at points. VV nodded at his comment as the duo headed off to lunch.

VV pulled out her lunch from her bag solemnly, and began to silently nibble on her sandwich. She received funny looks from both Knoland and Shay, but she brushed them off as nothing. She sipped her lemonade, and glanced at other people from the end of the table. Sonny gave her a nervous smile, while Amy gave her a look of jealousy and bitterness.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" VV said between bites. She gave Amy an awkward looking face, and looked back at her, starting a staring contest of sorts.

Amy blinked first, slowly stepping up from her seat. She sat down next to VV, and was about to say something when…

"Hi! I'm VV!" She grinned broadly, snapping any antisocial emotions out the door. Anyone who had thought that she was a quiet, sad, and lonely person was marveled to discover VV was very sweet and spontaneous. "What's your name?"

Venom seeped out of Amy's words as she spoke. "My name is Amy." She closed in on VV's ear, snapping at her and whispering with her next choice of words. "I'm Sonny's girlfriend, so you better stay away from him!"

VV gulped. "But he's my guide." She whispered back. "I could get so terribly lost without him. And I want to help him, since he's so nice to me." A pure and innocent smile crept onto VV's features, but with was quickly replaced by an excited grin. "But if you feel offended, I must insist that I apologize. Perhaps even with a trip I have planned. I've wanted to take a group of friends, but I haven't found friends yet."

"A trip?" VV's sweet nature had distracted Amy from the fact that she didn't like the little girl, but Amy ignored the fact that VV was closer to Sonny than she was at the moment. She just thought that VV hadn't meant to hog up all of her dream guy's attention. "What kind of trip?"

The volume of VV's voice raised enough for everyone at the table to hear. "I want to take everyone to the ice rink on Saturday. Then visit the park, and finish up with presents! Nothing much! I'm sure I can find the perfect ones for everyone before then! Please! Please say yes!" VV was a tad hyper, and bounced on her seat.

Slowly but surely everyone replied; most saying that they didn't see any harm in making the new student happy. VV clapped her hands in joy.

"Oh goody!" VV smiled ear to ear. Truth be told, she already knew they would say yes, and had already found presents to give. She just hoped nothing terrible would happen.

A devilish smirk appeared on a shadow's face from an abandoned corner of the cafeteria. It snarled and laughed at the young girl revealing her plans. Its malicious golden claws clanked together. "Saturday. Eh? Good. I can finally hunt you down and finish my mission." It cackled once more as it completely disappeared into the darkness.


	7. Chapter 6: Terror on Ice

Chapter 6

Today was Saturday. She was sure, gazing at the circled date. She even had a good night's sleep. Okay… That was rigged. A certain somebody had agreed to stand watch of her dreams. And that certain somebody was in the kitchen, putting fingers in the toaster. With VV's help, NiGHTS had garnered enough energy to make a safe trip to the apartment from Nightopia, where he lived.

"NiGHTS-kun… Remember what I said about the toaster?" VV asked the maren with narrowed eyes. She shook her head.

"To set the toaster to the 'two' setting, so I don't burn my bagels?"

"The other thing."

"Not to…" NiGHTS's voice trailed off as he ripped his burned fingers out of the toaster. He whined as he shook it.

"NiGHTS-sama! The next time you burn your hands, I'm not giving you this…" NiGHTS winced as he pulled the spray bottle out of VV's hands. He sprayed it on slowly, and the burns healed. VV snatched the bottle back before NiGHTS did something with it like last time. Miles, VV's lucario, almost beat the poor thing silly after he sprayed it on his tacos. The fighting type really enjoyed them, and NiGHTS decided to never _ever _do that again. Let's just say he's lucky the jewel on his chest didn't crumble.

Why is NiGHTS being referred to as a 'he' all of a sudden? Let's just say there were people much more…womanly than him. VV insisted upon this change as she did not like referring to anyone as an "it" or "partner" or whatever else she happened to make up, and NiGHTS, not caring, agreed. It made things much simpler in many, many ways.

_Anyway…_VV now had her regular bag zipped up into a larger duffle bag, and was headed off the ice rink. She hummed a happy melody as she reached a house, knocking on the door. It was answered by a groggy, blond boy.

"What?" Words slowly slurred out of Sonny's mouth. "I'm trying to sleep; it's Saturday…." His eyes were shut.

"Sonny-tan!" VV whined in her slightly high-pitched voice "I knew you'd forget! What are you doing today?"

Sonny's eyes widened. "Ah no…" He shut the door, and rushed up the stairs. VV knew him well, knowing he'd be back down in a minute or two. She looked at her watch.

_We're still gonna be late…. Hurry up, Sonny-kun! Everyone's waiting, you silly-l!_

There was a thump as Sonny stumbled down the stairs. He yanked the door open, and dashed out.

"Sonny-san! Sonny-san!" VV was trailing behind him. "You have underpants on your head! Come back! Come back before you humiliate yourself!"

Sadly, Sonny failed to hear her, and sprinted onwards. He screeched to a stop about fifteen minutes later. VV panted and groaned has she halted behind him. She took the underpants off Sonny's head.

"Good going, Captain Underpants! We're late!" Knoland chuckled as he said this.

Sonny's face instantly flushed red, and he put his underwear in his duffel bag, while VV, Dana, and Knoland continued to laugh their heads off. The trio finally stopped as they arrived in the building.

Everyone was quickly tying up their skates, except a reluctant Shay. He hesitated again and again. VV was just about ready to slap him across the back to get him to move it. Thankfully he arose from his seat with everyone else, and they walked into the ice rink.

VV slid across the surface; she klutzily hurried across the ice. She seemed to have no control over her stopping, turning as she stopped at a wall. She wasn't all too great, but she seemed to be confident her skating abilities. She even stated that she enjoyed skating like an inept fool. If one looked carefully, one would notice she didn't fall, unlike others.

While every else skated circles around him (except VV, who of course glided past him into a wall), Shay struggled to stay afoot. He was constantly slipping, falling every other time he took a step.

Aside from Shay, every seemed to be having fun. Dana swayed past everyone, showing off her superior balance. Ruby seemed a bit irked, so she inconspicuously tripped Dana, who cried when her face hit the ice. Ruby did feel guilty, but did nothing about it for some reason. She felt a little worse, but ignored it. Miles helped Dana off the ice. She thanked him, and gave him an endearing smile. VV could have sworn she saw the little boy blush.

Thought it was fun, nothing eventful happened after that. Okay. Not until almost everyone was off the ice. Something really eventful happened then.

VV was out skating on the ice alone. She hummed another happy tune as she took in the cold air. She was just about ready to turn in when she was abruptly stopped. She was grabbed by the collar, and held above the ice. Her first instinct kicked in, and she screamed for help at the top of her lungs. Adrenaline began filling her blood as she struggled to break free of the stranger's harsh grip. She was silenced as quickly as she had begun to skirl as the figure's claws clamped over her mouth.

Sonny had responded to the shriek, and headed back put on the ice. A thought immediately struck him. He could never handle someone without help. Sonny frantically searched for someone who hadn't taken off their skates. He found someone, grabbing his/her wrist at the second, and dragging that person back out on the ice.

The figure's cold eyes were as threatening as those of a bloodthirsty tiger. The black markings running down them made the eyes all the more threatening. His pale, bluish skin made VV squirm in between his golden claws. His voice was as tough as leather and as heinous as the hiss of a king cobra. "Where is that traitor?" he snarled.

"I-I don't know what you're t-talking about!" VV choked out. Her eyes were tearing in fear. She begged that her cries were heard. "What traitor?"

"You know fully well who I'm talking about, dreamer! Talk! Where is NiGHTS?"

"I-I don't know who this NiGHTS person is!" VV lied, trying not to laugh as she usually did when she lied. "Please leave me alone! I-I'm not the one you want!"

The masked figure ignored her pleas. "Talk, you filth. I know you're connected to that backstabber!"

"I don't know!" VV winced at his voice. "Who are you to ask me these questions?" VV's fists shook. "Why me? I don't know!" She repeated.

"My sources are not wrong, foolish girl. They wouldn't dare lie to second in command of Master Wizeman's army, General Reala." Reala smirked at the mention of his own name. He'd basically tacked it on to fuel his own ego. VV would have made fun of him…if she wasn't fearing for her life. She didn't understand. How did _he_ get here? "Now I suggest you tell me where NiGHTS is before I rip your ideya out!"

"I-I-I d-don't k-k-know!" VV words became more slurred and anxious.

"You're a filthy little liar! Tell me where he is!" Reala hissed.

Sonny pushed Shay forward, as the latter complained about how he hated being out on the ice. Sonny begged him to help, informing him that VV was in danger. Shay responded that he could care less, and that it wasn't_ that_ bad.

"My Arecus! Someone freaking save me!" VV hollered out. "He's trying to kill me! Please!" She said, referring to Reala before he clamped her mouth shut again.

Sonny gave Shay an 'I told you so' glare as the two boys headed back on the ice. Surprisingly, Shay didn't slip at all. In fact, if someone was watching, they would have said Shay was skating better than Sonny. He didn't even realize he was going so well, all he was concerned about now was saving someone's life. Shay wasn't _nearly_ as bad as he thought. It seemed like he had skated forever.

The duo was approaching rather quickly. Reala heard the stritch-scratch of their skates, and glared at them. "This isn't your business." He stated in a smug voice.

"Let VV go!" Sonny howled, his patience instantly depleting. His brain screamed at him to be afraid of the jester on the ice, but his body did not yield.

"Or what?" Reala smirked, eyes gleaming with an inhumane luster.

"Or this!" Sonny gathered his bravery, and struck Reala down. VV toppled out of his grip, and scurried off. Sonny quickly pinned the nightmaren down. Shay swiftly kicked him in the side. Ironically enough, VV finished Reala off by stepping on him with her skate.

"I'm outta here!" VV quickly panicked, and fled.

Sonny and Shay nodded as they departed with her.

Reala vanished in a puff of darkness. "You three will rue the day you defeated me. I will get you…." His maniacal laughter filled the air as he completely disappeared. "And I will reap my master's revenge!"


	8. Chapter 7: The Mysterious Presents

Chapter 7

VV was still a bit uneasy, hollering out thoughts of fear that someone was going go get her. She kept insisting she wasn't protected, and that she'd die. She got skeptical looks from Miles and Knoland, but mostly everyone was surprised when Shay didn't make some snippy remark or that Sonny didn't try to comfort her with "the truth". The real truth was that someone did want to kill VV over a connection to a "traitor". Sonny and Shay couldn't say anything because she had a right to be freaking out. In fact, they were freaking out too. Neither of them really got what VV meant by unprotected, but the both of them were worried for her safety. Who knows when that freak would strike again? Both hadn't even an idea what it was, but either way, Reala was pretty scary.

They were almost at the park now, and VV was almost back to normal. One out of every four breaths was a gasp of fear, but she wasn't yelping of it now. VV looked up at the cherry blossoms blowing in the wind, slowly returning to her chipper self. She twirled about through everyone, and winked for some reason. Afterwards, she sprinted ahead to the fountain where several boxes lay. They were all neatly wrapped with bows almost as big as the presents themselves. Everyone assumed VV wrapped them, and that these were the presents she was ranting about.

When Dana ran ahead in her curiosity, she wandered over to the package closest to her, a blue one with a red ribbon. She appeared to be scanning its surface.

"Hey! These presents have no tags!" She whined. "Did you get us all the same one? How …unfun!"

"Nope!" VV chirped. "Extra fun! You gotta find your own present with no tags!" She giggled, and clapped her hands together.

Dana gave out an exaggerated sigh. "You're kidding, right?"

"If I was kidding, could I do this?" VV jumped into a nearby cherry tree, and swung around it, making cheerful squeaks.

"Uh…" Dana raised an eyebrow. "You could?"

"So?" VV pouted. "I'm not kidding, okay? Seriously! I'm not, dude!"

"I'm a girl…"

"I call everyone a dude! Gosh!" VV scratched the back of her head. "Please just find your presents and not question me anymore!"

With that, everyone decided to heed VV's words, and search for their present. Everyone found it quite odd that they had to find the gifts with no tags. It was just random guessing for all they knew. Everyone gazed at the spectrum of gifts laid before them, and tried to guess which they possessed.

Since Dana rushed over first, she obviously looked at all the presents before everyone else. She hadn't found any one that piqued her interest. She frowned as she realized she had found her way back to the cerulean present. Then, she noticed something interesting. The girl looked past the box to find another at the end of the line. She was surprised she had missed something like that, and ran over to it. She lightly ran her hand across the white wrapping, and played around with the multicolored ribbon. Dana's eyes brightened as she looked at its bright colors: pink, bright green, and blue. She rubbed the ribbon in-between her fingers, yet she was compelled to open it at the moment. "This has to be the box…" She assured herself. "Something special's in here." With that, she plopped herself in front of it, and continued to fool with its charming exterior.

Sonny started at the middle, eager to find his present as well. He was about to walk past the blue one to look at the others, but it was as if it pleaded for him to stay. Sonny observed the fire-engine red ribbon, and noticed tiny flecks of gold in its complexion. He honestly didn't see beyond its simplicity at first, but was slowly noticing details that caught his eye. VV must have taken special care to wrap it because Sonny couldn't find where it was taped up. The cobalt gift also seemed to be his favorite color. He wasn't sure that he had a favorite color, but if he did, Sonny was sure that this was it. He didn't realize it, but he looked no further. Sonny meant to look at the other boxes, but never left the blue one in the center.

Shay looked at all the gifts with dulled eyes. He honestly thought VV was insane when she insisted that he would find his present without a tag. He strolled past most of them, not giving them any mind. Shay was about to take another step when he realized another present was in his path. He looked at the black and red present, and all the boxes after it. He shrugged has he picked the present up by its crimson bow. He sat down at fountain with the present. "You're better than nothing." Shay muttered to the present and himself.

After a couple minutes, the remaining candidates for the presents picked one up randomly except…. Miles was the last to arrive. He felt the desire to ask VV about herself such as who she was and why she was being so generous before he went to look at the various gifts. She answered with one statement, "I'm a friend." Miles raised his eyebrows at this. What VV didn't answer, though, was what she kept in her bag and where she was from. VV ,then, encouraged him to find his present instead of asking her questions, yet she said she was be glad to answer his questions later, when the presents were unwrapped. Miles nodded at this, and ran off to the boxes. As he walked up he slowly realized that everyone had a present with the exception of him. Miles suddenly became alarmed. Maybe he didn't get one!

"Miles! Miles! Over here!" It was VV, stumbling over his name. Not only did she know someone else by the name, but the desire to use honorifics and break her cover was stong. "Your present got hidden behind a bush! Gah! My fault! I'm so sorry!" She held up a yellow orange present with a white ribbon. Miles gripped the present with curiosity. "You're a bit late, so if it wasn't hidden, you'd be stuck with it anyway!" VV giggled, but abruptly became serious. "But it's a great gift, so don't think of yourself being stuck with it."

Miles laughed. "I won't. I bet it'll be a great present."

"Yeah! Seriously! This present'll grow on you so much that you'll forget that it's my present to you. It'll probably be a close possession! I promise ya!"

Miles chortled again, feeling a little uneased her certainty. "If you say so."

"Open it! Open it!" VV encouraged. "You should open yours first!"

The boy carefully separated the ribbon from the gift in one swift movement. VV gave a small clap, and giddily jumped up and down as he did this. Miles couldn't help but laugh again as he ripped the golden wrapping from the box. He opened up the white box to find something he would have never expected in it. The first thing he pulled out of the oversized box was a pair of shoes. Miles picked them up quizzically, looking for a zipper, laces, or anything that would open the shoes to put his feet in, but failed to find anything of the sort. Miles slipped the shoes on, surprised at how well they fit. How in the world did VV know his shoe size? He took a test walk around everyone else, who were starting to open their packages. Miles was also startled because the shoes were so comfortable on his feet. When he returned he was obviously eager to see what else was in the box. The next thing his hands touched was a scarf. To him, it was extraordinarily soft and fluffy. He slipped the golden scarf around his neck, and wasn't sure what to think of it. It still had that coaxingly heartwarming touch to it, but it didn't give him a heat stroke. "How's this possible?" Miles asked himself. This scarf warmed him slightly and comforted him, but it wasn't as overwhelming hot like he suspected. It seemed to keep his body heat. He shook his head, not wanting to ponder this any longer. As he picked out the last item, a pair of gloves, he noticed that Dana was in the corner with a scarf similar to his.

Dana saved the rest of the box for later, and simply sat limp with her new scarf tied around her neck. It had four ends to it, despite being only one scarf. It was also a violent green, much like a highlighter, with the exception of its ivory tips. She appeared to be very much at peace unlike a certain blond haired boy…

Sonny happily bounced about in his new shoes and gloves on. "How'd ya know I needed new running shoes?" He yelled to VV, trying to suppress his joy.

"Uh…" The brunette hesitated. "Your old ones were looking a bit worn out. I figured these nice ones would be better."

"Better?" Sonny chuckled. 'They're just my style! They're great! I'll be careful not to wear them out."

"Meh. Don't fret. I'm pretty sure they can stand it. I bet you five bucks they won't wear out ever! If they do, I promise I'll get you a new pair every time they do."

"It's a bet then!" He said, smiling at the red and white buckled shoes. "I've always wanted shoes like this, but I didn't think they existed. And now I can get endless pairs of 'um thanks to that bet!" Sonny adjusted the white strap.

"I doubt it! Seriously! I doubt it!" VV replied with a giggle.

"You're the one who's gonna doubt it!"

"No! That's you!"

"You!

"You-"

"Would you two care to shut up?" Shay spoke up with narrowed eyes. "What's the big deal?"

"We just made a bet, and Sonny thinks I won't win."

"You won't." Sonny piped up with a chuckle.

"No! I will, Sonny! I will!"

"Not this again. I get it."

"Fine, Shay! Don't be such a stick in the mud!" VV shook her head with anger, but was actually feigning it and started giggling uncontrollably.

Shay was wearing his gift too. He didn't seem too excited, though. He kept complaining about the white shoes sliding as he walked, and how the gloves hit him too comfortably.

"They're too comfy?" Amy asked him. "You're joking, right?" She was fiddling with a small key-chain with a squeaking hammer on it.

"No." His face was very serious.

"Well, I personally like these gifts." Amy sighed. "And you're making VV cry…"

"I'm not crying." VV looked at Amy like she had two heads. "These contacts I have in are just so freaking itchy! Seriously! My eyes burn!"

"Hmph." Shay smirked at Amy's now null and void excuse.

"But seriously, Shay. You don't like them? I was sure you would." VV appeared frustrated. "They're really nice –I mean- They're almost one of a kind. I worked so hard to get these presents together." She twiddled her thumbs.

Shay winced. _Guilt. _It got everyone, and VV had so innocently and so cleverly set it before him. He tried to stand there and forget it, but this was _guilt. _Guilt was one thing many could not ignore. It always lingered about, and reared its ugly head until you did something about it. Shay sighed.

"They're nice presents-" It looked like he was going to continue, but VV piped up again.

"Great! I'm glad you like them!" VV said grinning ear to ear.

"She keeps getting weirder and weirder…" Shay whispered in Knoland's ear. "I'm suspicious…."

Knoland rolled his eyes. "You're not suspicious. You're paranoid."

Shay glanced over at VV who was smiling for no apparent reason and humming. "All according to our plan." He heard her chime to herself with a giggle.


End file.
